The era of Signify has come to an end with the org announcing that both their Dota and CS rosters will be disbanded effective immediately. With both orgs effectively run by COBX Gaming, the management has decided that COBX by virtue of being a TO is not able to also field teams due to conflict of interest.
Its the end of an era in Indian esports especially for the Dota roster, who have been by far the best team in the country, ever since the day they started playing. Having gone unbeaten in all Indian tournaments they have played as Signify, the roster also represented the country in various international tournaments. The list of achievements for the Signify Dota roster includes multiple ESL India Premiership titles, 5 in total to be exact and the team leaves behind a legacy of dominance and unmatched excellence in the subcontinent.
The end of 2018 also saw the org pick up a CS roster, and while the team has impressed many in the short time they played together, they have little to show for in terms of trophies.
Earlier this year, COBX hosted the COBX Masters, a $200,000 CS:GO and Dota 2 tournament with international teams and talent. It was at the time, the biggest LAN tournament in India and effectively secured COBX’s position as a tournament organizer. With both Signify rosters taking part in the country, there was already concerns that there was a conflict of interest. With global pressure on RFRSH and Astralis, it is understandable that COBX don’t want to be in the business of fielding teams while simultaneously trying to be a TO.
This is what Mr. Rajdip Gupta, Co-founder, Horizon Sports had to say about the incident “With the interest of avoiding conflicts arising from the ownership structure of Cobx Gaming Private Limited and Horizon Sports Private Limited, we have decided to dissolve Signify. Two years ago, we formed the team with the intention to promote professional gaming and expanding professional teams in India. Today, the esports ecosystem in India has flourished tremendously and there are multiple professional teams set-up, hence, we believe this is the right time step out and avoid any sort of conflict with Cobx Gaming as we are actively involved in organizing tournaments. We would also like to thank our players for giving the team their all and wish them the best for what lies ahead. As an organization, we will be doing everything we can to help the players secure the next step in their career and find their ground. We are sure with their skills and experience they will achieve great success.”
What’s next for of India’s best Dota and Counter-Strike teams? Guess we will find out soon enough. Both the teams will be playing in the ESL India Premiership Summer Season Finals of the 2019 season so fans will get a chance to watch them in action one last time this weekend.